So many words to state the obvious. Don't get me wrong. It takes that many words and many more to move public sentiment on CF. All you really have to do is chart Howard's season with the LAL. He was HUGE the last two months of the season. DPOY and MVP huge if it had encompassed his entire season. You might ask why it only occurred the last 2 months of the season. Well, it was exactly in line with Howard's surgeons forecast for his recovery.
the biggest worry to me is that this injury is back related. Any back related injury can never fully be repaired. So lets be realistic here, this could easily come back and end his career. I am hoping that is not the case.
Am I crazy to think that his coming to the Rockets will ease his mind a bit thus improve his ft%? Thinking about this the other day. Like what if he comes here and somehow eases his mind whether it be by his teammates having fun with him or whatever.
As Morey and Jeff Van Gundy have both said His numbers in a down year (like last year) would be the equivalent of other centers (even up to a tier below him) having career years We win even if he isn't 100%.. We just win more if he is My concern is declining FT numbers - I think the only thing it points to is a lack of motivation practicing them - he considers it a lost cause with no way to improve.
the thing with numbers and Dwight---you can't look at it as a per game thing, if you look at it in terms of efficacy, there's no way having him and Asik finally bringing the Rockets up to par on defense will hurt. He's basically Asikx2 and whenever Asik was on, the Rockets tore it up on defense, and now with the devastating P&R, you figure they'll at least stay the course on offense.
Not to mention the fact that when you have a back injury like this it causes you to over stress other parts of your body unecessarily which can cause other areas to break down. Niggling injuries shut Tmac's career down, and it started with his back issues.
Completely agree with you regarding all the bluster and garbage Laker fans and especially the media, specifically journalist hacks like ramona shelburne, who are constantly berating Dwight and saying he is in decline. Their statements and BS reek of bitterness and anger toward Dwight for making the correct choice to leave the toxic team situation the floundering Laker franchise has gotten themselves into the last couple years. I think Kobe is as much to blame as anyone else. His unwillingness to accept the role the franchise needed him to take, to hand the reins over to Dwight as the future of their franchise, which was the right thing to do, is ultimately what made Dwight feel that the Lakers were a bad fit and his skills couldn't be properly and fully utilized as long as Kobe was out there trying polish his legacy and keep the Lakers as his team, even as he declines yearly and is starting to show his age and all the mileage on his body. Kobe's legacy could very well be that he set the Lakers' franchise back indefinitely because of his inability to accept reality. Kobe no longer has the ability to lead a team to a championship, and he just ran his best chance at another ring out of town. I am thrilled that he won't ever get that 6th ring because of his ego :grin: I feel that Dwight getting a fresh start in a positive atmosphere, with the full support of both the Rockets' franchise and their fans, is just what the doctor ordered so to speak. The added time to fully heal that Dwight was in need of last season I think will only improve the results and the on-court production that Dwight will provide. And Lakers fans will be eating crow by the truckload knowing that Kobe ran off their next franchise player. Dwight will now get to be the next great Rockets' big man. Go Rockets!!!!!
But as you said, some people simply look at the numbers and say "wow hes dropped off". I'm just trying to provide a rationale explanation for his sub-usual Dwight play early in the season.
Different type of back injury. Dwight's injury type is one where re-occurrence chance is higher but won't see any meaningful impact elsewhere.
I know this thread is about Dwight Howard, but presuming no roster changes till season starts, Lin PF, Harden SG, Parsons SF, D-Mo PF, Dwight C .... What do you think Asik's input will be off the bench? 8 points / 5 rebounds, average minutes played 15 mins?
I have a great feeling that Howard will have an explosive season. Im thinking 25+/13 with 2 blocks. Shooting % will be 55% or better. We will go deep into the playoff's. Western Conference Finals but will come up short in game 7.
Does anyone notice Dwight Howard's physique looking smaller than his Orlando days? Did he lose weight to help with the back injury? He's looked pretty thin during the press conference.
You beat me to that thought bro. I think it was either DM or JVG. That is the thought that kept coming to my head. I will take last year's how any day of the week. The images of how he single-handedly beat Houston in that our last matchup in LA was telling for me; the value of such a talent. Howard of last season's level of output easily adds 5-10 wins for this team. Moreover, that how takes us to the second round or third of the playoffs. Considering where we have been since 1998, I will take that any day. I lol @ the talk of regression and shelf life.
I'm gone just leave this here <iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/6U5jA5eqQ-E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
His pace and usage will go up, so his stats will go up by default. But, another year removed from his injury plus a team without Kobe will both help as well.
